Why ‘Constantine 2’ Director Suddenly Feels Hopeful After DC Studios Shake-Up
When James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired to run DC Studios in October 2022, the move promised a fresh start for the superhero brand. The pair set out to build a connected universe from the ground up, and the DC Universe officially began less than two years ago. Not every long-gestating DC project fit neatly into that blueprint.
Then the ground shifted. On November 9, Skydance announced that Gunn and Safran were stepping down as co-heads of DC Studios, with Jeremy Latcham, who worked with Gunn on ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ taking over as president and chief creative officer on December 1. Gunn isn’t disappearing entirely, since he revealed he is writing one more secret DC movie.
The timing has added another layer of intrigue for one particular fan-favorite property. Just days before the announcement, DC Studios was reported to be in the very early stages of developing a John Constantine movie, with ‘Evil Dead Wrath’ filmmaker Francis Galluppi tapped to write the script. That news seemed to leave little room for the Keanu Reeves version many fans have been begging to see continue.
Francis Lawrence, who directed the 2005 original, now says the leadership change has him feeling differently. According to a post from DiscussingFilm, the filmmaker says he is “more hopeful” that ‘Constantine 2’ can finally happen. In an exclusive Collider interview, Lawrence addressed how the DC leadership shake-up affects the future of the sequel.
His reasoning was blunt. Lawrence said he doesn’t want anybody to lose their jobs and stressed this isn’t a schadenfreude kind of thing, but that the people who were at DC were “an impediment to us making it.” He also noted that he and his collaborators have been trying to make the sequel for 20-something years, and that they have an idea and a script ready.
That backstory matters, because the sequel has technically been moving for a while. Development on the follow-up began in 2022, with Reeves and Lawrence set to return. Earlier in 2025, Reeves said he had pitched a treatment and that DC Studios gave the green light to write a script, which suggested the project was inching forward.
Gunn, for his part, never slammed the door on the idea. In 2025, he said on the ‘BobaTalks’ podcast that he had discussed the sequel on and off. Still, the surprise Galluppi hire raised questions about whether a Reeves-led follow-up was actually part of the plan.
Lawrence’s comments also arrive at a delicate moment for the people involved. Gunn wrote on Instagram this week that he was “incredibly relieved” to be out at DC Studios, which makes the whole situation feel more complicated than a simple changing of the guard. Fans have been quick to pick through the director’s wording, with some outlets framing it as a pointed jab.
It’s worth tempering expectations, though. Lawrence being more hopeful doesn’t necessarily get ‘Constantine 2’ any closer to production. As Lawrence explained, it will take people at Paramount, Warner and whoever is running DC now to get everyone on board for a sequel to their version of ‘Constantine’.
Much now depends on how Latcham approaches the slate when he officially steps in on December 1. For now, the script exists, the star and director remain eager, and a studio that once stood in the way is under new management. After more than 20 years of waiting, even a little optimism feels like progress for ‘Constantine’ fans.
